Study: Depression, Opioids Delay Return to Work After Wrist Surgery

Depression, anxiety or chronic pain conditions delayed the return to work of workers’ compensation patients who undergone surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, according to a new study in the journal Hand. In addition, patients who used opioids before their surgery or had preoperative work restrictions were found to have a significantly delayed return to work following carpal tunnel release surgery, according to the article published online on July 28. The researchers from the Philadelphia Hand Center and Thomas Jefferson University looked at records for 108 workers’ comp pati...